Madhya Pradesh: ASI begins survey at Bhojshala complex; puja & namaz to continue

INDORE/MHOW: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started its high court-ordered survey of the Bhojshala/Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar district on Friday. Prayers and namaz will continue as earlier.
Amid heavy police deployment, a team of 15 ASI officers - including five expert committee members - and 24 excavation workers entered the Bhojshala compound at 6.25am, carrying equipment for the study.On the same day, Supreme Court refused to interfere with the court order for the survey, saying it would pass an order only after hearing both sides.
Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society filed a special leave petition in SC, seeking a stay on the survey, and sought urgent hearing on Friday.
Supreme Court to hear Bhojshala case on April 1
A bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said they would hear the opposing sides. Since the court is going for recess for a week, the bench agreed to hear the case on the very first day of reopening, April 1.
At Bhojshala, the ASI team wound up initial work by noon so that Muslims could offer Friday namaz, as allowed in a 2003 ASI order. Hindus, who believe the disputed site was initially a temple to Vaghdevi (Goddess Saraswati), are allowed to offer prayers on Tuesdays and on Basant Panchami. This practice will continue during the survey, said officials.
On March 11, high court had ordered the survey to ascertain the "true character, nature and form of the disputed site" and asked for the report in six weeks.
The high court has ordered the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR), GPS, along with photography, videography and carbon dating.
The court had allowed representatives from the Hindu and Muslim sides to accompany the ASI team. Gopal Sharma and Ashish Goyal of Hindu Front for Justice, whose petition led to the HC order, were on site on Friday but the Muslim side went unrepresented.
Dhar shahar qazi Waqar Sadiq told reporters that Kamal Moula Mosque's representative Abdul Samad was expected to be present during the survey, but he didn't get the information.
"On the first day, ASI made ground-level preparations for the survey. As directed by high court, GPS and carbon-dating equipment will be used by them," Goyal said. The team also took photographs and videos of the entire premises.
Dhar SP Manoj Kumar Singh said adequate security arrangements were made to ensure law and order and safety of the team.
The hearing of Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society's petition in SC is listed for April 1 and the survey will continue, lawyer Shirish Dube, who represents Hindu Front for Justice, told reporters.
The shahar qazi told reporters that ASI records show the site is a mosque. "A petition was filed in high court in 1998 by Vimal Kumar Godha on behalf of Bajrang Dal and other Hindu bodies. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister then. A reply filed at that time said it was 'Kamal Moula Mosque' and the existence of Bhojshala was a mystery," he said.
Sadiq said they have documents to show that namaz can be offered at the site five times a day, but they have restrained themselves "in the interest of peace and harmony". But now they will approach the courts.
He said that the two communities are not at loggerheads over the site, and only a dozen people with "self-serving interests" are creating a controversy.